She is the author of the bestselling The Wrong Knickers plus The Sunday Times Number One bestsellers You Got This and Mad Girl which were both nominated for British Book Awards. Friendless and lonely, living on the upper floors of a tower block with her aunt, thanks to her hair - the fetishized focus of her social media channel - Barb has hundreds of thousands of online “friends”.

Introducing the YA fiction debut from bestselling author and journalist Bryony Gordon in a modern twist on Rapunzel and one girl's quest to find a different sort of happy ever after. Becky Chambers's new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter? I’m not saying I handled it well but I can’t imagine how I’d have coped with the news as a teenage girl. When their relationship starts to fall apart under all the pressure, Mel finds herself feeling alone with the impossible dilemma of the Little Bang growing inside her.One who isn’t confined to her bedroom on the 12th floor of the tower-block flat she shares with her aunt making content. I understand that it’s meant to be part of a wider narrative about stress and mental health in young people. There is a lot to really enjoy in this story and there is great energy to the writing, as well as some fine characterization' - Peter James, award-winning and no. Through Zal Barb learns to make her channel accessible, and discovers “there was a whole other world out there…a world that was richer and greater and far more sympathetic than the one she had witnessed during her short time with Spark Enterprises. A fearsome, remarkably ambitious novel that breaks through the boundaries of the genre to become epic - in all the best senses of the word.

And I very much enjoyed attempting to solve the case with Pip (who I now want to be my best friend).A note from Bryony Gordon: ‘Let Down Your Hair is my very first novel and is based on my own experiences – of desperately attempting to develop self-esteem, of getting lost in the madness of social media and of losing my hair. In this stunning retelling of Rapunzel, Barb must learn that she is so much more than her hair and that there is no such thing as a happy ending … just lots of complicated new beginnings. At its core is the message all teens need to read: you are good enough, and your looks are not your sum total as a person (neither is your social media following). A bittersweet Northern Irish romance that takes a new look at teen pregnancy, the magic and mess of first relationships, and a young woman's right to choose her own future.

Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. A first introduction into the YA fiction realm and Bryony is throwing off the deep end, not starting with something more straightforward, but trying to tackle social media and alopecia through a beloved fairy tale.

And if they won't look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town's dark secrets along the way. In this stunning retelling of Rapunzel, Barb must learn that she is so much more than her hair and that there is no such thing as a happy ending. Barb’s complex personal struggles — guilt that she’s ruined her loved ones’ lives, loneliness, lack of self-esteem, depression — are evoked with impactful, empathetic intensity.